HIMSS 2015 Cybersecurity Survey [INFOGRAPHIC]

According to the 2015 HIMSS Cybersecurity Survey, the surge in data breaches experienced by high profile companies such as Anthem, Premera Group and Blue Cross Blue Shield have healthcare organizations reexamining their cybersecurity measures. The responses provided by the nearly 300 individuals completing the 2015 HIMSS Cybersecurity Survey provide a barometer into the awareness and readiness that healthcare organizations have in responding to the surge of data breaches, security incidents and cyberattacks.

All of the survey respondents had some level of responsibility for information security at their organizations. The majority reported using an average of 11 different technologies to secure their environments.

More than half the respondents (57%) indicated that their organizations have hired a full-time security resource, such as a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), to manage the information security functions.

Despite these investments, only 7% respondents agree with the following statement:

“Today’s security tools are going to be sufficient to protect us against tomorrow’s security threats and vulnerabilities.”

A growing number of healthcare organizations have experienced cybersecurity incidents

More than two-thirds (68%) of respondents indicated their healthcare organizations had recently experienced a significant security incident.

Sixty-four percent of respondents noted an incident at their organizations by an external attack such as an online scam artist, hacker or through social engineering.

The greatest impact of these security incidents is the disruption of IT systems at the healthcare organizations. However, more than 20% of these security incidents ultimately resulted in the loss of protected health information (PHI) and financial and organizational data.

Click on the infographic below for additional insights from the survey.